Natural draught gas instantaneous water heater operation can be upset by draught and wind. High wind or gusts acting on the flue terminal have the potential to detrimentally affect combustion or create resistance to combustion gas flow causing improper combustion and potential damage to components.
Outdoor natural draught gas instantaneous water heaters are more subject to the effects of wind velocity and direction than indoor natural draught open flue gas instantaneous water heaters. A flue terminal of an outdoor natural draught gas instantaneous water heater will be subjected to multi-directional wind creating pressure fields acting on the flue terminal affecting air flow in and exhaust flow out. Usually an objective is to design a compact wall hung gas water heater to minimize the cost of manufacture and installation. It is thus not desirable to incorporate a long internal flue duct and draught diverter design inside the water heater so as to eliminate the multi-directional wind pressure effect.
Any reference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contrary indication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art is commonly known by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, at the priority date of this application.